Peter de Graaf

A Northland businessman says a decision to build a Northland expressway as one big public-private partnership has given him hope it will be completed during his lifetime.

This week, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the three separate Roads of National Significance making up the planned expressway from Warkworth to Whangārei would be combined into one large project delivered in three phases.

It would be built as a public-private partnership (PPP), potentially using fast-track legislation or changes to the Public Works Act to further speed up construction.

Riki Kinnaird, co-owner of Russell's Duke of Marlborough Hotel, said many businesses had been hit hard by the lack of a reliable transport link between Northland and Auckland. Anything that would speed up construction of a resilient, four-lane expressway was welcome, he said.

Kinnaird said treating it as one end-to-end project, built in three phases, meant none of the three sections would be left out.

He welcomed the estimate that the combined approach could shave 10 years off the project's completion time.

"If they can speed it up by another five, that would be even better - but at least we're going get it done in our lifetime now, it won't drift out," he said.

"Anything that will bring it forward is amazing. Ten years is huge and it means my kids will be able to see it, versus their kids in the future."

Kinnaird said he had no problem with the expressway being built as a public-private partnership.

"Being a pragmatist, we need it funded one way or another, and public-private partnerships are normal and don't scare us. Without it, it won't be done. There's certainly wonderful examples of partnerships working overseas and we should replicate that."

Kinnaird said Northland's business community was grateful for the repairs that had been done to the section of State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyns.

"But it continues to scare the bejesus out of us that it will get blocked again any time there's a decent downpour, so giving us hope is a good thing."

Benefits also for Auckland

Paul Linton, chief executive of regional development agency Northland Inc, said the expressway would allow Northland to get its goods to Auckland faster and more reliably, benefitting both regions.

Rolling the three projects into one was a sensible decision, because that made it less likely to be stopped by a change of government in future. It would also save a lot of money, because whoever ended up building it would look at the project as a totality.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced the government will accelerate work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei, including over the Brynderwyns. Photo: NZME / Michael Cunningham

Like Kinnaird, Linton had no objection to a public-private partnership.

"The reality is, we are constrained with how much money we've got to actually build infrastructure right across the country, not just in Northland. So we have to look at innovative financing solutions and that includes PPPs and toll roads.

"Everyone I have spoken to in Northland said they were happy to be tolled, as long as we get the road built and get it built as fast as possible."

Linton said there was a question about equity if Northlanders were required to pay tolls, and other regions which had benefited from upgrades to SH1 did not.

"On the other hand, if that's what it takes to get it done, then we're up for it."

The plan

The project's three phases will be from Warkworth to Te Hana (just north of Wellsford); Te Hana to Port Marsden (following a yet-to-be-decided alternative route around the Brynderwyn Hills); and Port Marsden to Whangārei.

Combined the three sections currently measure 98.7km, but the finished expressway is likely to be longer given the need to go around the Brynderwyns.

At 101.4km the Waikato Expressway was a similar length, but it was built on vastly easier terrain.

By comparison, the troubled - and costly - Transmission Gully near Wellington was just 27km.

Meanwhile, the Employers and Manufacturers Association said the government's announcement would lift business confidence in Northland even before work on the expressway started.

Head of advocacy Alan McDonald said Northland had been hampered by poor infrastructure for decades.

"The current road between Warkworth and Whangārei is too often closed, effectively cutting Northland off from the rest of the country. As a result, we've seen businesses and investors reluctant to put their money into the region," McDonald said.

"This is why Northland, despite its abundance of resources, has struggled economically. The new expressway will help address this, by fully integrating Northland into the country's golden triangle, which is responsible for the majority of the country's economic activity.

"The good news is that we won't need to wait for the completion of the expressway to see a positive economic benefit. In anticipation of the new link, it's likely we will see more investment into Northland's economic activity."

McDonald said anyone who wanted to understand the potential impact need look no further than the Waikato Expressway, and the rapid growth in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty since their connection to Auckland had improved.

"The new expressway will connect Northland to both Auckland and these high-growth regions, providing Northland business easier access to goods, services, markets and people. It will also allow Northport to play a greater role alongside the major port Ports of Auckland and Tauranga," he said.

"There's no reason that Northland shouldn't be a high growth region and that is what the new expressway can help achieve, unlocking the region's potential and helping address some of Northland's long-standing social and economic problems."

A study earlier this year by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research found an expressway between Auckland and Northland would lift national GDP by $2.1 billion and deliver more than $560 million in direct economic benefits to Northland every year.

This story was originally published by RNZ